My Roza's Gone
by FuryPossessed
Summary: We all know what happened to Rose and co. once she left the ski lodge to go and find Mason in Spokane but what happens to her Russian God? How does he deal with knowing she's in danger, and that it's all his fault that she ever knew where the Strigoi are?
1. Roza's gone

**Hey Everyone! Was going to post this yesterday but we had a power cut for most of Sunday evening so it wasn't ready and I was to busy to perfect it yesterday so excuses aside here it is. For those of you who read my other Dimitri POV story _Dimitri's Punishment_ this is what happened before that - what happened to Dimitri when they were lookign for Rose and her companions. Those who haven't read that don't worry, it makes no difference. So here it is: the beginning of the Spokane tragedy from our favorite Russian God's point of view. Hope you enjoy!**

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"Rose and Christian are missing." Alberta said down the phone with a matter of fact voice. I snapped awake at the same time as my heart skipped a beat. Rose? Gone? Was she injured? Was she… what? A massive part of me was telling me this couldn't be true but I knew it was. Alberta wouldn't pull a prank like this.

My heart clenching I asked, "Since when?"

I shook Stan awake and he sat up with groggy eyes, snapping into high alert when he saw my face and began getting dressed as quick as a steam train hurtles down the line. That was kind of what my heart was doing – running so fat and erratically there was no way to stop it until it crashed.

"Sunrise. She knocked out a guardian with a flashlight. Get over here now."

Without needing a second telling I began pulling a t-shirt on and changed my joggers for jeans. Just as I hurried out the door I grabbed a thick jumper and my coat. Then my phone rang again. Alberta.

"Bring the princess with you." She hung up.

There was no mistaking which princess she meant. Who knew both of them best? Vasilisa. Even a monkey could figure out who she meant. I slammed my door shut only for it to open again and Stan demanded to know what was going on. I took a breath and then told him, then went to Rose and Vasilisa's room telling Stan to head straight towards the guardians' lounge.

I hadn't actually been to Rose's room. We'd kind of been avoiding each other. Now I regretted that more than before. Something was telling me this wasn't going to turn out very well. I mean I knew Rose would get a lecturing on par with what she got when I brought her and Vasilisa back but this… she could get _expelled_ for this. Right now I wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her until her teeth rattled and demand to know what she'd been thinking because there was no way this was Christian's idea. It had Rose written all over it. All of us knew that.

But why take Christian? She was with Mason. He was with Vasilisa. Why? Why take him? It would make more sense for her to take Mason – romantic get away. And then the blame could be put on him because Rose didn't think of him that way. He was something to distance herself from me just like… just like Tasha was… for me.

When I knocked on the bedroom door no one answered. For a moment I hoped that this was all just some big mistake and Rose was tucked up in her bed sleeping off a long night. I opened the door quickly observing the room. Vasilisa was asleep in her bed. The TV was off but the radio was on at a low volume. Then I dared a look at Rose's bed. Empty. So this wasn't just some mistake. Her outdoor clothes were gone. Her bed was made. I knew she never made her bed from all the times she complained to me in practice that she could never just flop into it because there was either a homework book or clean clothes piled onto it. I'd laughed at the time asking her why she never bothered to make the bed.

"Takes too long." She once said. "You know how I'm always running late in the morning anyway."

Did I ever? "Then maybe you should get up earlier?" I questioned raising my eyebrow and smiled a little.

"Are you kidding?" she asked. "I like my sleep unlike you who never seems to get tired."

Back then it had seemed like such a trivial thing to notice about her. Now though it was of the most importance. I touched the covers noticing they were slightly rumpled where she'd set something down on it. I deduced that she had left after the cleaner had come around.

I slowly stepped towards the other bed and shook Vasilisa awake. She only half opened her eyes at first probably thinking it was Rose but when she saw it was me she sat up a little.

"Guardian Belikov?" she asked.

"I need you to come with me." I said gently.

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**Vampire academy belongs to the wonderful Richelle Mead.**


	2. Vasilisa

**Thanks for all the reviews and things guys you keep me smiling and keep me writing. See without those reviews there really wouldn't be a story here, so keep reviewing! Please? **

**Anyway here's the next chapter. Not the best but I promise the next one will be better. **

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"Um, okay. What's up?" Lissa asked.

"Rose is missing." Her eyes widened in shock. "So is Christian."

"What?" she cried. "What do you mean '_missing'_?" fear filled her face and her eyes shot over to Rose's bed. She scrambled out of her own and dashed over to it and then stopped. She paused for a moment just looking at it. Then she slowly turned around. "What's happening, Dimitri?" tears filled her eyes and threatened to spill over.

"I'll explain it to you soon. I need you to get dressed and then you have to follow me."

"Alright."

I nodded once and walked out of the room so she could change.

When she came out I gestured her down the hall and I set the pace back to the guardians' lounge. She had to walk quickly to keep up with me. Normally I would have slowed but right now I didn't care. The quicker we got there the quicker I could question her and the quicker I'd be able to get to Rose. As it was the only reason I'd not made her come with me as soon as she awoke was because letting her change would help her calm down a little and focus which would make questioning her easier and more productive.

She began tapping on her phone and put it to her ear. When no one picked up she angrily closed it. I guessed she was calling Christian. Out here there was no reception which I took as a good sign. If they were closer to civilisation they'd have reception. I hoped they hadn't gone too far and had only got lost in the surrounding woods or something. Of course he could have just left his phone in his room.

When we got to the lounge it was empty but there was a side room door open and there was plenty of noise coming from the other side of it. I could hear Alberta issuing orders and a few people left the room at a brisk pace.

Inside Alberta was stood at the head of a rectangular table that had maps spread across it and people were stood with her marking them with pens and rulers. Upon our entrance Alberta glanced at me and nodded once saying she'd be with me in a minute.

"Let's sit over here, Princess." I said threading my way through a moving crowd of people. There seemed to be too many people in here for the size of the room making everything and everyone feel even more oppressed.

Vasilisa happily sat on a sofa and snapped her phone shut again. "Are they still here? I mean they might only be lost, right?" she looked up at me her jade eyes filling with tears.

"No." here eyes filled with shock. "They left the boundaries at sunrise. Christian tried compulsion. Rose then hit the guardian with a flashlight."

"So they… purposely left?" she asked. "Why didn't they ask me to go with them?"

"They probably just want to keep you safe, Princess."

"You know I think I prefer _Vasya_ to Princess." She said but I was barely in the room anymore. Something in the pit of my stomach was telling me that keeping her safe was _exactly_ why they left her behind and safe from more than just a telling off from Ellen. I really didn't like what my gut was telling me.

"You will find them won't you Dimitri?" Vasilisa asked quietly. In her eyes was a complete faith in not the people around her but in _me_. She believed _I_ would find Rose and Christian.

"Yes. Yes I will." I looked over to the table where Alberta was. Janine had joined her and looked frantic under the guardian mask she was wearing. "Excuse me, Princess." I said and walked over to my colleagues.

"Dimitri, you have Vasilisa?" Alberta asked and I nodded. "Good, I'll question her in a moment. For now we're doing a role call to make sure no one else is missing. What does she know?"

"Just that Rose and Christian are missing and how they left." I said. "I'll go and ask her questions."

Alberta just nodded and went back to the maps. I stepped away from the table and sucked in a big breath. For all the times that I'd told Rose Vasilisa was stronger then she thought I knew this would be hard on the Princess, especially since it was her best friend _and_ her boyfriend missing.

She sat and listened patiently as I told her in more detail how they had left and what we were doing to get them back, her face going even paler than normal. A few tears gathered in her eyes and she had to take a few deep breaths before she was able to talk.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "They're not just… skiing or something?"

"We're sure. There're footprints in the snow leading out of the boundaries." Not that they were very helpful as they had been covered with snow when the wind had picked up further in the surrounding forest. "When was the last time you saw either of them?"

"Rose left the party early last night and I didn't see her after that. Christian and I…" she paused and let out a shaky breath. "We had an argument in the morning and I didn't see him all day. He's not answering his cell either."

"Are you sure about Rose? Could she have gone back after you were asleep and left before you were awake?" _Damn_. I was asking more questions about Rose than Christian which was pretty bad since we weren't even together and since I wasn't even supposed to let myself love her. I had to get a grip. But with the fear that was starting to bubble up it was hard to focus on anyone but Rose.

"No. Her bed's all made," Vasilisa said, "and you know she never makes the bed. And I've called Christian like a thousand times and he's not answering."

"Shit." I swore in Russian and then decided it wasn't strong enough. "Fuck."

"Dimitri?" Vasilisa asked.

"You've done all you can." I said and rested a hand on her shoulder. "You should go back to your room and rest."

She nodded and left the room. I thought through what she'd told me and wondered if anyone else had seen Rose after she left the party… well I had on the roof top. After that I hadn't seen her. Where had she gone after that?

_"To break someone's heart" _her voice whispered through my mind.

But whose… Mason. She'd gone to talk to Mason.

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**Hope you liked it. Please review. **

**Richelle Mead owns _VA. _I do not. Sob. **


	3. Mason

**Sorry for the huge delay but for the past few days my pc has been losing internet connection every 10 minutes but I'm back and updating. I actually _hate_ this chapter (hence the shortness) as not a lot happens in it but it's a necessary one so that the story can move forwards, so bare with it and remember that the next chapter will be better. More emotionally charged too. **

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A bunch of guardians rushed out the room in outdoor clothes ready to search the surrounding forests. I walked over to the table.

"Alberta, do you know which room Mason Ashford is in?" I asked.

She looked puzzled for half a second and then looked on the table for a few moments and handed me a clip board. Mason's name was on the top. 37c sharing a room with a dhampir called Shane. Whatever. Mason was more likely to know where Rose could have gone than Shane. I muttered to Alberta that I'd be back in five minutes and then left leaving her alone in the room with Janine.

I hurried over to the room and pounded my fist on the door. A few moments later a tired looking Shane answered. I asked if Mason was in the room before he could even ask what I was doing there.

"Not seen him since the morning. He was throwing some stuff in a back pack."

"Thanks." I muttered and walked away.

I did the maths. Mason had left early in the morning. Rose in the evening. Definitely not together. But neither would risk traveling around here alone. Especially Rose who had a Moroi in tow. Alright Christian could get them out of trouble if it came down to it using his fire magic but still, Rose wouldn't risk it. What had they been thinking?

"Hey, Guardian Belikov." Shane called. I turned. "Rose asked the same question. Is he in trouble or something?"

"What exactly did you tell her?" I demanded walking back towards him.

He began to look a little scared. "Err, just what I told you and then she asked a bunch of other questions about um, how Mason seemed when he was leaving and if he said where he was going, stuff like that."

"And?" I asked impatiently.

"Well, he seemed pretty distracted but he didn't say where he was going. I just figured he was taking Rose somewhere but she didn't seem to think so. She left here thinking about something. Like there was some other reason that he left. I'm kind of worried." He admitted looking to the floor so I wouldn't see his emotions.

What I really wanted to say was 'why the hell didn't you tell us this earlier?' instead I said, "Shane, Rose is missing. With Christian Ozera. I think Mason is with them."

He looked up with shock all over his face. It was a mirror of what everyone else's reactions had been so far. It was impossible to believe that two students had gone missing but for another to go missing before hand… well that was strange to say the least especially since no guardians had reported seeing him leave.

"We're looking for them." I said for what felt like the billionth time today. "Is there anything else you know? Anything would be useful."

He thought for a few minutes. "I don't think so. He was more friends with Eddie and had been with Lissa, Christian, Rose and Mia a lot. And that Ivashkov guy. He thought Adrian was trying to make a move on Rose."

_Who wouldn't?_ I jealously thought. "Thank you. If you remember anything come and find me or Alberta in the guardian's lounge." I said and hurried back to report to Alberta.

When I got back Emil and Celeste had just half sprinted all the way back saying that Mia Rinaldi and Eddie Castile were also missing and they appeared to have gone earlier than Rose. When I told them that Mason was also gone and that Eddie and Mia were probably with him the room went still for a moment and everyone stared at us not wanting to believe it.

Somehow five students had evaded a fleet of guardians.

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**The next chapter is way better I promise. Review anyway and tell me what you thought good or bad. **

**VA belongs to Richelle Mead. **


	4. Theories

**To make up for the massive delay in updating here's another chapter. Please don't kill me for the ending. **

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After that all I could do was wait. Alberta gathered pictures of the missing students and pinned them on the wall for those guardians who didn't know them. I intently listened for reports coming back just waiting, hoping, praying that they would all be found safe and unharmed.

We quickly learned how Mason, Eddie and Mia got out. Compulsion. Lousy compulsion. That meant Mia was the only reason they were able to escape.

Alberta re-entered the room and sat in the chair she had managed to keep throughout everything that had happened so far. She looked tired already, stressed and worried. She sipped on what must have been her fifth mug of coffee and sighed.

"What do you think, Dimitri?" she asked.

I'd been wondering this, the motives behind the escapes. Not much came to mind. "Rose went after Mason, Mia and Eddie. I think she knows where they are."

"Then why the hell didn't she tell us?" Alberta burst.

"She's still too impulsive for that. She probably thought she could get them before we even realised they were gone."

"Well look how that turned out. I'm going to kill her when she gets back."

I almost protested the idea but then again I was thinking the same thing. If she thought she was going to get away with scaring me to death then she had another thing coming. Right now I wanted to shout at her and berate her for ever for being so stupid. Reckless. Careless. The least she could have done was told _me_. Asked me to go with her.

"Whose idea do you think it was in the first place?" she asked.

"Not sure. Not Eddie's. Mia… she has her reasons. Mason can be almost as impulsive as Rose. I didn't think he was quite this reckless though."

"No." Alberta said to her mug. She sighed again and took another sip of her drink. She shook her head and stared at nothing for a few moments, her eyes un-focusing and going vague.

"You have a really bad feeling about this as well." I stated.

She just nodded and drank some more.

"I thought the first thing you were supposed to teach her was self control."

"Not as easy to teach as combat moves." I sighed instantly wishing it was. "But she's really good. She'll make sure they're all okay."

"Will she be able to do everything though?" Alberta asked leaving the obvious question in the air.

I thought about it. Would she be able to do it? Would she be able to kill a Strigoi? She knew how to use a stake well enough, and she knew a lot of moves, but honestly? She still had lots of training to cover to be a guardian. I had no doubt she'd do her best and not go down without a fight. Neither would Mason or Eddie who were equally good in their own rights. Together they would be able to do it. But Rose alone? No. She wouldn't be able to do it yet.

"She'd give her life before she let anything happen to them." I said and my heart sank. I hoped it wouldn't come to that because I wasn't sure I'd be able to go on in a world without _Roza_ but if it did get to that point… She'd do it. She'd sacrifice herself for them.

"I know." Alberta said. "You know, I was thinking about her trials. She's going to need something extra isn't she?"

"Yes." I said wondering why we were even discussing this. We had more important things to do.

"I want you to fight her." my ears began to prick up. Fighting with Rose… "With Janine."

I rose my eyebrow. Rose was good, really good but… "Are you trying to kill her before she's even graduated?" I asked.

Alberta smiled. "No. She's just that good."

Yes she was. She was good. The best of the novices. The best novice I'd ever seen. That was what was going to help her survive out there.

I sighed and stared at the ceiling.

"You're close aren't you." The statement had my heart pounding. Did she know? Had she figured it out?

Somehow I managed to keep my guardian mask on. "Yeah I guess. When I'm not on duty or sleeping I'm with her training. She's been through a lot already for someone so young." The door opened behind me and light spilled into the room. "She doesn't deserve what she's going to get for this."

"I think, Guardian Belikov, she deserves exactly what she's going to get."

I turned round and Ellen Kirova, all five feet and nine angry inches of her strode into the room and took a seat at the table.

"If she get's out of this alive she'll go to St. Basils and finish her training there."

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**Yeah it's a cliffy but you'll love Dimitri's reaction. I hope you liked it. Let me know (: **

**VA belongs to Richelle Mead**


	5. Ellen Kirova

**Errr... been a slight delay again but this time I only have my own laziness to blame *blush* but now you have a new chapter and the end to that little cliffy I gave you. Hope you enjoy!**

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"You can't do that!" I exclaimed my heart once again pounding. Rose in Siberia? Rose away from me? No. She couldn't do it. I wouldn't let her.

"Give me one good reason why."

"Because she doesn't understand Russian!" I calmed myself just knowing I was sounding like some panicked lover, which I guess I was but they didn't need to know that. "She'll never pick it up in time to graduate. She'll never be a guardian and you know we need all the guardians we can get. Princess Vasilisa _Dragomir_ needs her."

"An undisciplined guardian is no guardian at all."

"You –"

"Belikov!" Alberta interrupted. "Shut it." She turned to Ellen. "Ms. Kirova, you shouldn't be here." Ellen went to interrupt but Alberta talked over her. "You'll only get under our feet and slow us down."

"I'm staying."

"Ellen!" Alberta used her exasperated tone. Ellen rightly simmered. Alberta didn't often get exasperated with people and when she did it meant she was close to losing patience with them. I'd never actually seen her lose it with someone and I really didn't want to. "I don't want you here. You'll be better off skiing or at some party. Go back to your room."

Ellen's face tightened and her eyes board into Alberta's for a few moments. Alberta cut her a glare ending the discussion and turned her back on her to look at some maps or something. Ellen stood and left the room.

"Must you always clash with her over Rose?" Alberta asked. She sounded amused, almost like she enjoyed seeing us argue over her.

For a moment I wondered what she was on about but then yes, I had always argued with Ellen where Rose was concerned. The day I took her back to the Academy and convinced her to let her stay, when I insisted that Rose come with us when we had to rescue Vasilisa and just a moment ago.

"She treats her like a child." I said dismissively.

"Rose is a child." Alberta countered.

"Who knows her duty better than most. Rose grew up a long time ago."

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**SO that's it. Hope you liked. Thanks for all the alerts and favorites they're really cool but a few more reviews wouldn't hurt would they? Just hit that button!**

**_ Vampire Academy _belongs, in its entirety, to Richelle Mead. I'm just peeking behind the scenes and telling you all the unseen stuff.**


	6. Driving

**I'm back hoping you're not all going to kill me after being absent for the last God-knows how long. I had some pretty hefty personal stuff to deal with but I'm back and slowly getting back into the swing of writing Dimitri POV stuff.**

**One confession... over the past couple of weeks I've been writing a Harry Potter fic which is really all that's got me back into the swing of writing so here's a shamless bit of personal promotion and if you want to check it out it's called 'The Doe and The Fawn'. **

**If anyone has been following this and my other current VA fic (you'll know which one) I'm going to update it soon, promise. **

**Without further adieu, lest this author's note be longer than the chapter, I'll let you read on with the promise that the next chapter will be longer and much better. **

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"I'm going to check out the bus station." Janine said.

All the people who had been searching the surrounding forests had come back by now and turned up empty handed. My heart had fallen a little more every time a team turned up. We'd only been waiting four and a half hours but already it seemed like forever.

Janine had hardly left the room since we woke up. Her guardian mask was still in place but all of us could sense her pain and fear underneath. Rose wouldn't think Janine was this worried about her, she'd probably say she was angry she'd tarnished her name again. The thought was a small comfort but it didn't last long.

If Rose went to the bus station she could be anywhere. She could be anywhere with God knows who doing God knows what.

"I'll go with you."

Alberta nodded her consent.

It didn't take us long to get to the garage and pick up a Honda Civic. It was a black one to match our moods. I jumped into the driver's seat and put my foot down before Janine was even belted in.

As I drove I thought that Rose would love to be in the car right now. She would be moaning that she wasn't the one driving but I knew she'd love the speed because I was definitely going over the speed limit.

"I don't know what I'm going to do when she gets back." Janine sighed. She leant her elbow on the window and rested her head in her hand. She looked tired beyond belief, mostly brought on from stress.

"Well that all depends what happens, doesn't it." I mused. I planned to fold her into my arms as soon as we were alone and tell her how worried she'd made me. Give her some 'Zen' as she called it.

"How good is she with a stake?"

There was a hint of sadness in her voice that permeated the air. I wasn't sure what she was sad about, perhaps the distance that had developed between them, or that she didn't even know how her daughter's training was going. She looked at the road, never once glancing at me.

I sighed – at least I had one piece of good news. "She used it like she's been doing it for years."

"Good." was all she said but if she'd been in the habit of talking about her feelings she would have said more.

The rest of the journey was silent.

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**Hoped you like it and I hope you review - I'm prepared to be shouted at for being absent for so long if any of my original followers are still with me and haven't given up on me, lol. **

As ever the amazingly wonderful Richelle Mead owns VA, not me. ***sniff* **


	7. Driving back

**Another slightly longer chapter. Hope you enjoy. **

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The bus station wasn't anything much. Just a small depot and a couple of benches. Janine went straight to the man inside the small brick building and showed pictures of the five missing students. I looked straight at the time table.

There were routs to all sorts of places mapped out. Some went to different states and others to near by towns. Others to cities. Running my finger down the list I skimmed all the un-important destinations. I my hopes rose for a moment that none of them had actually come here until I saw my worst nightmare. Spokane. Spokane where the Strigoi were.

For a moment I felt like I was actually going to faint. My heart was threatening to skip a few beats and for a moment I couldn't actually see anything.

_ "Who makes Spokane their hide out?" _

_ "Strigoi apparently."_

I closed my eyes for a second and breathed in deeply. Now was not the time to panic. Right now I needed to get back to the hotel and get my Roza back.

"Janine." I barked and stalked to the car. I had the engine running before Janine had even got close and impatiently revved the engine. When she got in I only allowed her time to slam the door closed before I sped off going even faster than before.

"You know where she is?" Janine was keeping her voice flat on purpose. It was infuriating.

"Da." I nodded and swerved round a pedestrian.

Janine finally had the sense to do her seatbelt up. She turned towards me silently demanding an answer. I resolutely shook my head. If I told her… well it was best I kept my eyes and focus on the road. There was no way I was going to tell her in confines of the car. There was just no way that was going to happen.

"Dimitri Belikov." She snapped. "My daughter just happens to be one of the students we're looking for. Tell. Me. Where. She. Is." She crossed her arms over her chest. So Rose like.

"I should never have told her." I had a feeling I was speaking in Russian but by that point I didn't care. "Why the fucking hell did I tell her? I'm sorry Janine. You're going to kill me when I tell you. It's less than I deserve. God, how could I have been so stupid." I thumped my fist on the steering wheel. "If she's dead I'll never forgive myself."

I swiped a tear from my face. It was borne of frustration, anger, disappointment, maybe even fear. Yes definitely fear. Fear was just about the only thing that was governing my actions right now. If Rose were here she'd say I wasn't afraid of anything. Truth is I'm scared of many things. Losing her being at the top of my list. If she was, heaven forbid, dead… or worse.

Everything was spiralling around me, time, reality…everything. What did the world matter if there wasn't a world to share it with? What did _life_ matter if there wasn't a Rose to share it with? _No, _I told myself firmly, _Rose wouldn't want you to think like that. Believe she's still alive. _

But how? How could she be when she was in the viper's nest? Right now she was in a place worse than hell. I just knew it. I just knew she was facing her worse nightmares. How could she be facing anything else?

And it was my _entire_ fault.

"For the love of God, Belikov, if you don't tell me what the hell is going on I'll make you stop this car so help me God I will." Janine growled bringing me back to reality.

Reality was more grounded than the spiralling blackness I'd been drowning in. It felt real which only made the pain worse. It was washing over me in heated anger. Anger at myself. How could I have made such a stupid mistake? A mistake that could cost five people their lives.

"Spokane." I whispered. "She's in Spokane."

Janine froze a moment horror washing over her face. She knew what it meant to. Certain death.

"How does she know?" she breathed.

"I told her." I quietly admitted.

Her glare was the worst I'd ever been put up against. I deserved no less. I deserved more punishment than this, more than just a mother's undulated anger. What did I deserve? Well we'd only know when we found them. I'd sure to get fired at the very least, have my Guardian title taken away from me.

"What?" Janine sounded so much like Rose's did when I told her where the Strigoi were. She had the same incredulous tone.

"I though it was a good idea at the time. To challenge her, help her mature. She needs treating like that." I swiped another angry tear away.

"She most certainly does not." Janine huffed and turned away from me. "I trusted you." She whispered.

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**Richelle Mead owns VA**


	8. Admitting it

**Just a short chapter today (for Do'B who gave me the best review yet!) but I'll post another tomorrow or Thursday since I'm on holiday from Friday - Monday. Hope you like this chapter anyways**

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I finally decided that I'd left my hair down for a reason this morning and it was staring me in the face. Alberta. I'd just told everyone where Rose was and how she knew the Strigoi were in Spokane. Everyone around the table had stiffened and drew in a collective breath. Janine was glaring at me from her place opposite me but I was more worried about my red faced boss.

There wasn't much that would get Alberta as worked up as this. Her fists were clenched at her sides and her eyes were boring into mine with anger radiating out of them. I suspected that she'd be asking for my resignation in the near future. If it was Vasilisa who was in trouble I'd be sacked as soon as she blinked. Well being sacked was the least I deserved. I wasn't supposed to put people in danger. I was supposed to protect them and save them.

I could feel everyone else in the room looking at me with the same anger and confusion. I still stood by my decision – Rose needed to be challenged and treated like an adult and telling her where the Strigoi were was one way to do that. No one else understood her the way I did. No one had taken the time to try and understand her like I had which meant no one understood my thinking.

Either way I was glad I couldn't actually see their glares through the curtain of my hair.

"Why, Dimitri, did you feel the need to tell her that the Strigoi are in Spokane?" Alberta asked.

"To challenge her behaviour. I'll explain more when this is over because right now we should be focusing on finding our missing students." I replied looking her in the eye. "I have already called the Spokane alchemist and they have a few possible leads and he is on his way here now."

"Fine." Alberta snapped. "Emil, get maps of Spokane. Celeste, there's a shopping mall there. Get the CCTV footage and see if they went there. Guardian Belikov, come with me."

Alberta strode out of the room and I quickly followed. She opened the door of the next room and waited for me to enter making me feel like a school boy again. The room was a small lounge with a simple couch and a couple of small chairs and a TV. Alberta shut the rood and I turned to face her.

"The only reason I'm not sacking you here and now is because you're the princess' guardian but you listen me, Belikov. From now on you better walk the straight and narrow. Another slip up and I'll report this to HQ. Understand?"

I nodded.

"When we find Rose you can come but only because you're the best guardian I have. If any of them die it's on your conscience. _Do not_ make another mistake like this." With that she turned and walked out of the room.

I stayed standing where I was for a few moments, needing to clear my head. Then I went back into the other room.

"Out!" Alberta snapped. "I don't want to see you until tomorrow when I'm not quite so mad at you."

A few people looked at me. I gulped and slowly backed out of the room.

I decided the best thing I could do was have a shower.

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**So did you like? Spoiler for next chapter: Dimitri's anger with himself bursts forward.**

**Please leave a review, it will make**** me write better and I'll love you lots and lots. **

**Richelle Mead owns the Va universe **


	9. Waterfall

**Here's another chapter as promised. Just a short one as I wasn't quite sure where to take it but I hope you like it nonetheless.**

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For a while the water wouldn't do as it was told. Oh the flaws of showers. Baths at least stayed at a constant temperature for a while but as expensive as this ski lodge was this particular shower didn't know how to stay hot. I ended up punching it in the end which somehow fixed it. Now, finally able to relax a little I leaned against the wall and let the water pound against my side.

It took me a few minutes to realise my knuckles were bleeding from punching the shower. I swore as the stinging kicked in and held my hand under the stream of water. If only my feelings could have been washed away like the blood was. Washed away never to bee seen again. It was a stupid wish really but heartfelt all the same. I was angry. So very angry with myself. And Mason.

Mason had bee the first to leave the ski resort with Mia and Eddie. I knew he was the leader of that group. Rose had only gone to bring them back. If Mason hadn't gone then Rose wouldn't have either. If I ever saw Mason again I was going to make sure he knew he had acted irrationally, he wouldn't ever forget how irrationally either. And then what was I going to do? Shout at Rose? Probably. But because of what she was doing to my heart.

Every minute she was gone was another minute she was more likely to be dead if she wasn't already. She may even be worse than dead. She may be Strigoi. We'd already made a promise to each other. We'd rather be dead, truly dead than Strigoi. If she was… if she was one of _them_ I'd make sure she got that wish even if she no longer believed in it. Oh, I'd do it even if it meant I was kicked out of the ranks. For her I'd do anything even if it resulted in my death. For her I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Realising tears were once again falling down my face I sank to the floor of the shower and sat there for what felt like forever with my head in my arms and let myself fall apart for a little while.

What felt like hours later I heard someone knocking on the bathroom door. A soft voice called out to me and it took me a few moments to realise it was Tasha. I really didn't want to move but her nephew was in Spokane as well and she deserved answers. I shut the shower off and quickly got dressed.

"Kirova told me what you did." Tasha said. Her arms were folded across her chest and her eyes were narrowed. Even angry she was beautiful. A slight blush coloured her pale Moroi cheeks making her if anything more attractive than before. But she was just a friend. Rose was the one for me. The only one for me and I cursed myself once again for what I had been doing to Rose since the holidays had started.

"You're right to be angry." What else could I say? That I was sorry even though sorry wouldn't fix this?

"I raised him since his parents turned and all you can say is 'you're right to be angry'! Tell me when, Dimitri, I needed your permission to be angry?" she unfolded her arms and pointed an accusing finger at me. "If he doesn't come back from this I'm holding you responsible."

"So will I."

A tear rolled down her cheek which she angrily swiped away. I stepped forward and began to pull her into my arms but she pushed me away. More tears rolled form her eyes.

"Don't you dare, Dimka! I don't want your pity. I don't want your apology. I don't want you to feel bad for me. I don't want –" she was in hysterics by now.

I stepped forward and held her wrists so she couldn't hit me which she was trying very hard to do. She kept shouting and shouting, telling me what she didn't want. Her eyes were closed against her tears and she choked on sobs.

"Tasha!" I barked and she stopped.

I pulled her close and held her tight as much for her benefit as my own.

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** So did you like it? Let me know in a review.**

**I'm off on holiday now so I won't be updating for about five days but I'll add something the day after I get back.**

**Richelle Mead, the wonderful Richell Mead owns VA. Alas I do not.**


	10. Tasha Ozera

**I'm accepting slaps on the writs for how late this is. Do'B posed a couple of interesting questions in her review and this chapter answers them (I hope). It took a while to decide how I was going to present this and wanted to make sure I was happy with it before I posted it. As it so happens I'd decide done thing and wrote something completely different that I like better. Hope you like it too and therefore forgive the lateness.**

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Tasha Ozera was an amazing woman. I'd always known that. She was smart and brilliant and beautiful, deadly in her own way and had more determination than a lot of seasoned guardians. However as she sat on the sofa wiping her tears away she looked crushed. Fear for her nephew lined her face and turned her eyes more ice like than before.

I sat across from her on the chair opposite her. Stupid. That's what I had been. Stupid. Looking at her now I wondered how I'd ever believed she could take me from Rose. She had some of the qualities Rose had that much was true. But she wasn't Rose. Once again I realised that if she wasn't Rose she wasn't for me no matter what I told myself.

Sighing I wondered what this break would have been like if Rose and I weren't fighting. We would have been happy. We perhaps wouldn't have seen much of each other but we would have been happy. We could have spent Christmas day talking to each other, exchanging presents and joking about something or other.

If only. Those two words seemed to be the most frequent on my mind. If only Rose and I could have the future we wanted together, if only Rose were still here, if only I could hold her in my arms right now. If only hadn't told her. The questions and 'what if's' and 'if only's' swarmed my mind for what was not the first time and definitely wouldn't be the last.

Movement from Tasha brought me round form my musings. She was re-tying her hair into a low ponytail.

"How did you get in here?" I asked. This room as with all the other guardians' rooms operated on a swipe card basis. As far as I knew they staff didn't keep the spares easily accessible but Tasha would have been able to get one if she wanted it bad enough.

"Stan let me in." she replied still looking at the floor. "Had to drag him here to do it but he did it."

Tasha looked up at that moment and I knew the true extent of her feelings. It was in the look in her eyes and the soft curve of her lips. Love. The idea made me almost sick to my stomach. How could anyone love me, how did I deserve love after all that I had caused? I didn't know if she was forgiving me but I didn't really care. I didn't want anyone's forgiveness. Didn't deserve it. I deserved… well the worst. Dismissal from the ranks, imprisonment, eternal disappointment from everyone. From Rose especially.

I should tell her. Tell her that I didn't deserve her love and that I could never return it but now didn't seem like the right time. Her nephew was missing, possibly dead and the last thing she needed was a broken heart on top of all that. Not right now. But soon. Soon I would tell her. Just as soon as this was all over or the worst had passed us by.

I sat back in my chair and looked to the ceiling. It was plain white which was soothing to the senses. After the chaos of the day I needed something blank to look at.

Tasha moved over to the drinks cabinet and poured us both something. Whatever it was, some sort of amber liquid with ice, was pressed into my hand but I didn't drink it. Even though Alberta had told me to stay out of it all for a while if she needed me she'd ask no matter how angry she was. If that did happen the last thing I needed to do was turn up intoxicated. I put the glass to my temple and let the cold of the ice start to work its way through the headache that was fast developing.

_This is the last thing I need right now, _I thought._ I have to tell my best friend that I do not love her whilst the love of my life is missing. _

I outwardly groaned and slouched a little in my chair. I looked at the drink I was holding and contemplated if I could get away with drinking it.

"She'll do everything she can to get them out of there."

"That's what I'm afraid off." I said and stopped contemplating if it was a good idea to drink what was in the glass and knocked it back. "I'm going to bed."

I showed Tasha out the door and then sat in the chair. So I'd just lied to her but I really needed the space and time alone. I wasn't tired at all. I wanted to go out there to Spokane and rip the town apart until I found her.

That however would only tip the Strigoi off and they'd move her, or turn her sooner. The thought made me blanch and I sank even further into the chair.

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**So did you like it? Let me know. That little 'review' button is calling to you, you know it is! **

**Richelle Mead wrote and owns VA. I, alas, do not no matter how much I wish had thought of it all first. **


	11. Basements

**Hello. Well it has been a long time now hasn't it? Sorry it's been ages, I kind of forgot about this fic and got caught up in my Harry Potter one (I put the epilogue up for that fic today, I shall miss it dearly *sniff*) **

**Anyway, forgive me? I know this chapter's short and doesn't really move the plot forward much, but I wanted to get something out for you guys. Hope you like it anyway! Please leave a review even if it's only to tell me it's rubbish and I need my head checking out or something. **

**Yeah, I should probably stop rambling now huh? I'll let you get on with reading now, promise! **

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"Adrian?" I asked to dumbfounded to remember his title. "Princess? What are you doing with Lord Ivashkov?" I asked indignantly.

Adrian I noticed looked half scared to death and Lissa didn't look much better. They were pale for even Moroi. Vailisa had wide eyes and was panting from some sort of physical exertion. Adrian did too. Something in my face must have told him I wasn't particularly happy with him because he shied back and paled even more.

"He knows where Rose is!" Vasilisa exploded.

My heart leapt and for a moment I didn't know what to think.

"Where." I asked too stunned to move. Too stunned to even shake him by the shoulders.

"Well I don't know exactly a –"

"What do you mean you don't know?" I demanded and this time I did shake him. He started to look a little scared so I stopped. "If you do not know exactly then tell me what you _do_ know. And how." I felt my eyes narrow.

He looked like he thought I suspected him of some sort of treachery which wasn't far off base. How could _he_ know where she was? Him? A Moroi. A sleazy Moroi at that. Thinking about it now there was no way he could know unless he was in on it. Whatever it was.

"He's a sprit user, Dimitri." Vasilisa said with an exasperated sigh. I felt my jaw drop. Seriously him? Whatever. No matter how much I didn't trust him after what I had seen Vasilisa do I trusted her. Especially about spirit.

"Can we come in?"

"Tell me on the way." I reached back into the room and grabbed my duster and stake and then shut the door behind me. Ivashkov started looking scared again. "Talk." I began walking down the hall. It didn't matter if Ivashkov didn't tell me because the princess would.

"Dreams are interesting places. They show you what you want to see sometimes but at other times your deepest fears. They show more than most people will ever know… Uh, sorry. I walk dreams. I managed to get to Rose a few minutes ago. She's in a basement. She didn't say where."

I rounded on him.

"How is she?"

"Scared."

I glared.

"Alright –"

"You call being held captive against her will 'alright'?"

He pulled a cigarette out. I let him put it to his mouth and only took it away from him when the lighter was just about to light it. I then threw it to the floor.

"If you want to smoke do it outside and away from the students." I snapped. "Is Rose hurt?"

"No. Don't know about anyone else she woke up."

I hurried away telling them to get to the operations room as soon as possible. I knew Ivashkov had lit a cigarette but right now I really didn't care. I had a lead at last.


	12. Alchemist

**Hey there! I promised I would update quicker this time! Only 10 days since the last update. So anyway... I'm having a little writer's block at the moment (you will probably be able to tell when you read this, sorry) but I think I know what's going to happen in the next chapter so it will be longer than this one. Hope you like what happens in this one, or rather, what it promises for the next chapter or two... I'll let you read now.**

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There was an Alchemist in the situation room when I swung the door open. He had a pile of new maps and was talking to Alberta whilst pointing long fingers at a location on the map. I strode over, feeling rather than seeing Vasilisa and Lord Ivashkov behind me.

"They're in the suburbs." I stated.

Alberta's gray eyes looked up at me still holding a note of displeasure. Seeing my sincerity and certainty she straightened up from bending over the map and tilted her head slightly trying to figure out of it was worth asking me how I knew this after my stupid mistake of telling Rose in the first place.

Janine immediately dismissed me but only after giving me a Rose worthy glare. It made my heart constrict and crushed my soul a little more.

"Tell me more." she commanded.

"Adrian has spirit too." the Princess began. I could hear the excitement in her voice as she spoke. "He walks dreams and he saw Rose!"

"Lord Ivashkov?"

"Guardian Petrov," he began surprising me with how polite he was being, "Rose wasn't able to tell me where she was but she's alright. She said that they're in a basement." He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Sorry but that's all I know."

"There has been some unusual activity around here." the Alchemist said pointing to a place in the suburbs of Spokane. "I have a house I'm renting here," he pointed to the other side of the city. "You can… Stay there… until you find your students if you wish." He suddenly began to look uncomfortable as if we were as evil as the Strigoi.

"Right, Janine, assemble a team; Belikov, Princess, Lord Ivashkov I want to talk to you in private." Alberta ordered and suddenly there was activity everywhere. She looked over my shoulder towards the door and here eyes betrayed… annoyance?

I looked over my shoulder too and saw why she looked annoyed. Ellen Kirova was stood in the doorway looking less than pleased.

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**Please leave a review to let me know what you think, whether it be good or bad, I don't mind! So what do people think Kirova is there for? 10 house points for the first person who gets it correct (can you tell I'm working on a Harry Potter fic? lol) ... Siriusly please review!**

**The awesome Richelle Mead owns VA. She did the last time I updates as well, just in case I forgot to say so then. **

**REVIEW! Please!**


	13. Ellen Again

**Sorry for the wait but here's a new chapter. Getting close to finding Rose and co. now, just a couple of chapters left, I think. **

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Alberta strode passed Ellen and into the next room. It was a small lounge area with just enough seats for everyone to sit. Even so I stayed stood.

"I have heard how Rose knows where the Strigoi are." Ellen began. "I want Belikov's stake."

"No!" Vasilisa almost yelped and flew from her chair surprising us all. "He's my guardian I you can't do it! I won't let you. Besides Rose needs him. She's been focused since he began training her! She's going to be one of the best but only if Guardian Belikov trains her. You can't."

"I assure you, Princess, I can."

"And I assure you, Ellen, you can't." Alberta coolly began.

"And I won't let you." Vasilisa said using all of her royal prowess. She was a cutting figure to be sure on the occasions when she acted like a royal. One day she'd change the world.

Alberta looked at her in approval and gestured for her to sit. Vasilisa turned her nose up at Ellen and sat back down suddenly calm again.

"Princess Vasilisa is right. We need Rose and the only way she'll graduate and be a good guardian is with Dimitri's help. He'll be punished by the guardian council but he'll keep his stake. I'll make sure of it."

Ellen narrowed her eyes at Alberta and then stood from her chair.

"Very well. But I'll do everything to ensure that he gets what he deserves. No one gets away with putting my students in danger!" she strode out of the room and slammed the door.

"Oh, that… I could…" Vasilisa began too angry to form a sentence.

She got up and began to pace around the room. I watched her warily hoping that the madness wasn't coming back. Alberta glanced at me thinking the same thing but not knowing what to do. I stepped forward and gently gripped her arm.

"Sit down, Princess. We'll deal with Ms. Kirova after finding Rose." I guided her to a seat and sat next to her. "Tell Alberta about the dream."

The explanation didn't take long. Alberta looked grimly confused but convinced.

"Dimitri, you'll be coming with us. Princess, you're staying here with –"

"But I can help! What if someone is hurt!"

"The medication, cousin." Lord Ivashkov gently said. "Told you, you should have come off it."

I suppressed a frustrated growl. The last thing the princess needed was to come of her medication.

"Help Lord Ivashkov if you can. I need him to try and contact Rose again. Tell her we're close and that we'll be in Spokane in a few hours." Alberta finished. "Can you contact the others?" she hedged.

"I'll have a go. Come on, cousin. Can't concentrate with all the noise the guardians are making."

"I'll call Dimitri if we get through to one of them." Vasilisa aid allowing herself to be pulled from the room.

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**Bit of a talky chapter I know but please leave a review anyway. The next chapter will be much better I promise. **

**As always, Richelle Mead owns VA.**


	14. Moving Out

**Hey everyone, hope you're still out there! I did upload this earlier but it didn't save the changes I made so if you got two Update emails that's why.**

**SO this is the last chapter. FINALLY. I read all of this on live preview and it seems that just about every chapter has an apology fro latenees and I feel really bad about it. Feel free to tell me off! Anyway, as it's the last chapter Dimitri goes to rescue Rose. I lifted speech from the book. IT IS IN NO WAY MINE. Richelle Mead owns all! **

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The jet didn't move fast enough. It was going top speed but it still wasn't fast enough. The longer we were in the air the longer Rose was going to be in the clutches of the Strigoi. The longer Rose was there the less likely she was to survive. And I honestly didn't know if I could go on in a world like that. Without Rose… Well what was the point in living, in anything?

The worst thing was if she did survive this there was still no way we could be together. But if she was still alive the sacrifice of our happiness was worth it. Anything would be worth her living.

But what if she wasn't simply dead? What if the worst happened? What if she were strigoi? I remembered the promise we'd made in the back of the SUV when we went on the shopping trip. We'd both rather be dead than Strigoi. They weren't promises exactly but I knew Rose would do it for me. And I'd do it for her. Oh, I'd do it in a heart beat.

The jet eventually landed and we all transferred into Jeeps. Alberta got a phone call.

"Mia!"

I snapped my head up from the SatNav I was programming. Everyone leaned forward and began listening. I could vaguely hear Mia's hysterical voice.

Try and clam down. Where are you? What road?... We'll be there in half an hour." She snapped the phone shut. She pulled the SatNav out of my hands put a zipcode in it. "Go there. That's close to where Rose is."

In the mirror I saw Janine quickly buckle her seatbelt. "Drive fast, Belikov."

I didn't need telling twice. I stomped my foot down on the accelerator and in a squeal of tires we were off. Alberta radioed the others and told them where to go then the car was silent. Everyone was preparing. Preparing to face one strigoi, two maybe. Or maybe five. Five strigoi we all knew.

Alberta made a call to the alchemist and then put a new zipcode into the SatNav.

A car drove into my path going slowly. I had to break suddenly but then I slammed my hand on the horn. The car more or less jumped out of the way and I put my foot back down. Even with the danger that we were heading towards, and maybe even heart break, I felt the thrill of adrenalin rush though my veins with the speed. Once again I thought how Rose would love this.

It didn't take us long to get to the general area the house was in and then we were on the street. There were three people slumped on the sidewalk. I slammed the breaks on and jumped out of the car.

Christian was leaning against a tree. Eddie was more or less unconscious. Mia ran up to me tears streaming down her face.

"Rose! She's in there! She killed them. But Mason… Mason's dead! He's…"

I let her go and rushed towards the house. It was the only one with the door open. Alberta and Janine moved with me at the same time. We ran up the steps and then froze.

There was blood everywhere. Heads detached from bodies. Glass littered the floor. And Rose. Rose bent over Mason's body. Mason's body… I didn't want to think about it. It was too horrible. It was my fault he was dead. If I hadn't told Rose, if I'd kept quiet like I should have… He was still you. He had a promising future ahead of him. He was dead and it was my entire fault.

Rose's head snapped up and her eyes gazed at us, feral and promising danger.

She was broken. Broken beyond repair. Despair filled me and crushed my heart. She was broken and all because of me. She had no idea who we were. She looked at us but we were just threats to her. She stood up and pointed a bloodied sword at us.

"Stay back." she warned. "Stay away from him." Her voice wasn't her own. It was void of emotion, blank and… not hers. There was no colour, no vibrancy. Not even a harsh threat.

Tentatively I stepped forward.

"Stay back!" she yelled, panic creeping in.

There. There it was. At long last there was emotion. An emotion I expected too. After all that she'd been through blind panic was the only thing I expected from her at the moment. It being there gave me hope. There was a part of her left after all. I took another step forward.

"Rose, drop the sword." My voice was soft as if I was talking a stray cat and trying to convince it I wasn't there to hurt it but save her. Rescue her. Rescue her from the nightmare I'd created.

Her hands shook. Slowly I was getting through to her. Of course I was. I loved her and she loved me. If I couldn't get through to her then no one else could.

"Get away from us." she was less convinced. Closer to letting go of her tight hold on her emotions and closer to coming back to us.

"It's okay." I stepped closer. "Everything's going to be okay. You can drop the sword." My heart was hammering in my chest. If this didn't work I didn't know what would.

"I can't." I saw her struggled with words. "I can't leave him alone. I have to protect him."

I almost smiled. There. She was acting like a guardian again. A messed up, emotionally charged and at the moment useless guardian but she was acting like a guardian. A guardian who refused to leave her charge's side.

Softly I said, "You have."

And that was it. She dropped the sword. It clattered to the floor. She swiftly followed it. Relief pounding though my heart I took the last couple of steps towards her and wrapped my arms around her. She was cold. So, so cold. I helped her up and held her against my chest.

Finally something in our lives made sense. We were in love and I was the first person to talk to her and hold her. I was the one who was going to comfort her while everyone else sorted things out. No one knew of course that we were so very sweetly in love, but that didn't matter. We were together and she was safe. I tried to gently pull her out of there but she refused to move. Instead of forcing her I held her tighter.

"I love you, Roza." I murmured in Russian. It was a good job that no one here spoke it. Btu if they did what did it matter? She was safe. She was alive. "I love you. It's okay. It's all over. It's over and I'm here. I'm not letting go. Not now. Not ever. Oh, Roza you scared me so much, you know that. Please, never do anything like that again. Oh, I love you. I love you more than the world."

"Get her out of here, Belikov." Janine commanded.

I guided her in the right direction and this time she went. It seemed to take a great effort for her to put one step in front of another, but each step became more sure than the least and eventually we made it out into the safety if the sun.

Mia rushed up to us. She stopped when she saw that Rose was still in shock and freaking out. Instead of asking questions like I'd expected she quietly walked by my side back to the Jeeps.

I opened a door for Rose and she slowly climbed in and leaned against the back of the chair she sat on. A first aid kit was thrust into my hands. I took it and put it on the top of the car and quickly examined her. She had a bruised neck as if she had been dragged somewhere. What was more of a problem though was her bloodied, glass torn hand. As gently as I could I cleaned the wound. She should have flinched but I think shock was starting to take over and numbed her to a lot. I bandaged the hand.

"She was… brilliant." a tired voice said.

I looked over. Christian Ozera. He looked better than I expected but then I guessed a feeder had been quickly found.

"She was always looking for a way out. Then she suggested using magic. I don't know why I didn't think of it before."

At that moment two people came out of the house carrying a stretcher. The body was covered but for a stray lock of red hair.

"I keep thinking that maybe if I had then maybe Eddie might not be so bad and that Mason…"

"Mason chose to come here." I said for my benefit as well as his. "You can't blame him."

"He got us out, you know. Rose distracted the Strigoi and he got us out… Then he went back in." his voice was thick and he was on the verge of tears.

"Mr. Ozera, you're supposed to be resting." A firm but gentle voice said and someone guided him away.

Eventually another alchemist arrived and took over for us and we made our way back to the jets. We drove slowly this time, all of us worn and shocked by what we had seen.

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**SO that's the end. Please leave a review and thank you for sticking with it though the horribly late updates. All of your reviews have been greatly appreciated :D**


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